Stanley Ingham
Stanley Ingham (born 20 Jul 1981) is the son of two muggles, Mr. and Mrs. Ingham. He was born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire. He is a muggleborn wizard. He is a very friendly individual and is incredibly loyal, and skilled in Potions as well. He picked the Appleby Arrows to support because of his best friend Evan. Early life Stanley was born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire. Scrooby is a small village, on the River Ryton and near Bawtry, in north Nottinghamshire, England. It had a population of under 300 people. His father owned a local pub which he had been running for years, but several times it threatened to put the family under. Stanley grew up in a working class background and had always expected to take over the family business when he grew up. Stanley attended the local grammar school but had minimal friends, partially due to odd happenings around him, and his childhood was relatively lonely. Hogwarts years Stanley received a visit from Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Summer of 1992, where he was told that he was a wizard. His parents were delighted to finally know the source of the unexplainable events that seemed to always be happening around him. They encouraged him to go, and Stanley was somewhat apprehensive of leaving his village at first, but he was finally able to visit London for the first time to get his supplies. There in Diagon Alley, he purchased a wand that was twelve inches long, made of applewood and unicorn hair from Ollivander's Wand Shop. He met two boys called Evander Bourdillon and Henry Marlowe on the Hogwarts Express on the way to school. He didn't enough money to buy any candy for the journey, and was surprised with the other two's generosity, and was able to try a Chocolate Frog, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and a liquorice wand. When it came time for the Sorting Ceremony, Stanley was put into Hufflepuff. He was glad to see the friends he had made there, too. He even shared a dormitory with them, and another boy called George Stebbins. He was fascinated to learn about the inner-workings of the Wizarding World, because his parents had let him buy just one book so that he could better acquaint himself with the new world. They were not made of unlimited funds, however, so everything that Stanley saw he was not able to get. He had no idea what Quidditch was, much less Gobstones, which Evander Bourdillon was glad to explain to him. In his classes, Stanley worked as hard as he could, sometimes revising and studying for up to seven hours a day on weekends. His unusual nature put out Evander and Henry, who wanted to spend time with him, but Stanley was worried that if he didn't make high enough marks he would be thrown out of school, and Evan and Henry had to explain to him that he wouldn't. Stanley then laid off the books for a well-earned break. His efforts, however, caused him to excel in Transfiguration and Potions, arguably the most difficult subjects for first-years. He also tried flying, but found it unnatural, and preferred to keep to the ground. Stanley found it difficult to make friends from other houses. He originally tried to befriend Bertram Aubrey and Marnie Hargrave from Ravenclaw, as they were often studying the same times as he was on weekends, but since they rarely saw each other in classes and Evander and Henry were more persistent, he kept to them. He was partnered with Aquila Black from Gryffindor in Herbology, and found her standoffish at first. They soon grew closer, however, as Stanley shared tidbits from his small-town muggle life in the country. Aquila shared what it was like to be a pure-blood witch and the two of them became quite interested in how the other side lived. He joined Duelling Club in his first-year, which was being run by Professors Snape and Lockhart. There, he learned the Disarming Spell, which he was able to achieve after practicing for a total of two months at the age of eleven, a sign of great magical prowess. He was overall an extremely hard-working student and befit all the qualities of Hufflepuff House. Apart from academics, Stanley took up supporting the Appleby Arrows Quidditch team, which was the favourite team of his friend Evan. Evan invited him to games to watch them play, and in the summer before his third-year, Stanley was invited by the Bourdillons to attend the Quidditch World Cup Final, between Ireland and Bulgaria. It was an experience that Stanley would never forget, not just because of the match, but because a riot broke out when a large group of Death Eaters stormed several campsites. They destroyed everything in their wake, torturing Muggles and Muggle-borns alike. Stanley and his friend Evan ran through the forest with Evan's little brother Phillip, and this was perhaps the first moment that Stanley realised that the Wizarding World was not entirely safe for people like him. The Dark Mark was fired into the sky, causing most of the Death Eaters to Disapparate, which was when the riot ended. However, Stanley took the symbol in the sky to mean that there were still people in Wizarding England who hated Muggle-borns, and the Dark Mark became his Boggart. In his fourth-year, he joined Dumbledore's Army under encouragement from Hufflepuff students in the year above him- Ernie Macmillan, Zacharias Smith, Hannah Abbott, and Susan Bones. Dumbledore's Army was a student organisation formed by Gryffindors Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, and at meetings, Stanley and his friends Evander and Henry learned useful magical skills, such as the Shield Charm and Reductor Curse. Stanley practiced every day and was eventually able to conjure a corporal Patronus, which took the form of a Greyhound. Personality and traits Stanley was generally well-liked by everyone who knew him. He was a fierce friend and an incredibly loyal person. He also possessed a remarkable inner strength, and though he grew up in a small village filled with muggles who thought him odd, he was able to make a lot of friends at Hogwarts. He could also be described as an extroverted-introvert: though he was friends with some of the more popular boys in his year, including Evander Bourdillon and Henry Marlowe, he also frequently needed some time to himself. Emotional strength and intuition will always define Stanley's top strengths and traits. Although he has the tendency to be emotional, he is kind hearted and has a compassionate personality type that makes for an outstanding friend. He also may be very internally focused and able to guard secrets very well, which makes him an excellent confidant. Aquila Black often talked to Stanley as a sort of outside ear when her other friends couldn't possibly understand. He was also a very good listener to other girls: some of these included Helen Stainthorpe and Lily Headley, Hufflepuffs in his year. Private, introverted, and soft spoken are other traits that Stanley has been known to exhibit. The ability to draw upon emotions to provide empathy and sympathy gives a unique set of strengths that allow him to connect to other people unlike any other. He has also been known to have a good sense of humour. Magical abilities and skills * Charms: Stanley was rather good at this subject, being able to cast a successful Disarming Charm in only his first year, after months of practice. He was also known to be able to adequately cast even the Patronus Charm by his fourth year, the last of which is noted to be advanced magic not usually taught on the Hogwarts Curriculum. He could also cast simpler charms such as the; Levitation Charm, Wand-Lighting Charm, Unlocking Charm, and various others. * Defence Against the Dark Arts: Stanley was very skilled in this subject. He was able to use spells such as the Full Body-Bind Curse and the Boggart-Banishing Spell. He also mastered all the spells that Harry taught Dumbledore's Army in his fourth year. He mastered Stunning Spell, Impediment Jinx, Blasting Curse, Revulsion Jinx, and various other jinxes and hexes and curses. * Transfiguration: Stanley was proficient in this subject, but under the duress of extremely hard work. He was able to attempt human transfiguration by at least his fifth year in school, and often studied with Aquila Black, who he helped unknowingly achieve her animagus transfiguration by answering many questions about the subject. * Herbology: Stanley had a naturally green thumb, and this helped him in Herbology class. His mother had tended several muggle plants at home while he grew up, and learning about magical plants fascinated him. He made sure to work hard to take care of plants in class, along with the help of his partner, Aquila Black. Relationships Ingham Family Stanley was quite close with his mother and father. Although he was sometimes embarrassed by their lack of money, he always stoutly defended his parents. He was their only son and was quite close with them. Evander Bourdillon Evan was Stanley's best friend and helped him learn more about the Wizarding World, and although this information was invaluable to Stanley, they were friends more than just because he was grateful. That being said, Evan often tosses around money like it means nothing to him, spending his pocket money on his friends even though Stanley often tells him not to. Stanley and Evan have attended many Quidditch matches together, tickets to which weren't cheap, but Stanley often feels because of this, he can never really repay him. In their early years however, they were very close, and almost like brothers. They took to each other immediately, bonding over the vast array of wizarding sweets Evan happily shared with Stanley, who was not able to afford his own from the Hogwarts Express food trolley. In their fourth-year, they joined Dumbledore's Army together. Henry Marlowe Henry was another one of Stanley's very close friends. Along with Evan, Henry shared food with Stanley on the Hogwarts Express and it must have only been fate when the three boys ended up in Hufflepuff together, sleeping in the same dormitory. Evan and Henry became very popular and Stanley felt at first that he was just along for the ride, but Henry proved to be the most dedicated to the three of them, often ignoring others in favour of hanging out with Stanley and Evan. Henry and Evan both joined Stanley's Muggle Music Club together, a club formed by Stanley himself, Aquila Black and Maisie Cattermole, where Stanley was able to show his friends what they were missing. In their fourth-year, they joined Dumbledore's Army together. Aquila Black Stanley was on close terms with Aquila from almost the very beginning; though standoffish at first, they soon became acquaintances and then later friends. She convinced him to start a Muggle Music Club with her in their first year when he had a conversation with her and Maisie Cattermole about the record player Maisie had brought to school with her. They were partners in Herbology but soon started studying together outside of classes, and some of their extracurricular studies that they worked on together included advanced Transfiguration. Stanley was a valuable ally of Aquila's and helped her learn more about the muggle world, which she had taken up an insatiable interest in. She was also a member of Dumbledore's Army in their fourth-year. Maisie Cattermole Stanley was on friendly terms with Maisie Cattermole, another girl in his year in Gryffindor. She was friends with Aquila Black first, but helped convince him to start a music club and together they bonded over records. He visited her in the hospital wing at least once every month when she would end up there under mysterious circumstances, and was one of the first people to figure out that she was a werewolf. The revelation did not startle him but further reading about the subject made him very upset and angry about the way werewolves were treated in the Wizarding World. She was also a member of Dumbledore's Army in their fourth-year. Ginny Weasley Stanley was on friendly terms with Ginny Weasley, as she was best friends with Aquila and Maisie. She had also joined the club that he, Aquila, and Maisie created, out of curiosity more than anything else. But they soon became friends, too. She was also a member of Dumbledore's Army in their fourth-year, and Stanley appreciated her unusually strong Bat-Bogey Hex. Luna Lovegood Stanley did not become acquainted with Luna until his fourth-year, when she also joined Dumbledore's Army. At first, he found her very odd. She found him very funny, but Stanley suspected she was making fun of him when she laughed uproariously at a joke he made. After getting to know her better through Dumbledore's Army, Stanley gradually became fonder of Luna. He soon began to find her interesting, but not odd like everyone else called her. He began to understand the beat of someone's very different drum. Bertram Aubrey and Marnie Hargrove Bertram and Marnie were often near Stanley's table when he was revising in his first year. He attempted to befriend them but it didn't seem like they wanted to be anyone else's friend. That changed in their fourth-year when all three of them were apart of Dumbledore's Army. Helen Stainthorpe Helen was a Hufflepuff girl in Stanley's year, and they often had enlightening conversations. Helen was a half-blood who grew up in a rural background in East Anglia, which interested Stanley because he was from a very small village too. Lily Headley Stanley was friendly to Lily, another Hufflepuff in his year, and they had fun conversations. He also comforted her when his close friend Henry broke up with her in their fourth-year. George Stebbins In addition to Evan and Henry, Stanley's room mate at Hogwarts was George Stebbins. Although he was not as close to him as he was to Evan and Henry, Stanley was nevertheless friendly with him. Etymology * Origin of the name Stanley: Transferred use of the surname originating from several place-names derived from the Old English elements stan (stone) and lēah (wood, clearing, meadow): hence, "from Stanley" or "dweller near a stony clearing." * Origin of the name Ingham: This interesting surname has two possible origins. Firstly, it is of English locational origin from "Ingham", in Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, as Ingeham, Hincham and Ingham respectively. The name derives from the Old English pre 7th Century personal name "Inga", originally the name of a minor Norse God associated with fertility, plus the element "ham", meaning homestead. Simply put, "Inga's homestead". * His wand is made of applewood. Garrick Ollivander notes that the wood mixes poorly with Dark magic. It is said that the possessor of an apple wand will be well-loved and long-lived. In addition, they are relatively powerful and best suited to those who have high ideals. They are also suited to wizards who are able to communicate with magical creatures in their own language, although Stanley has no such skill. Category:Characters Category:Hufflepuffs Category:Hufflepuffs Sorted in 1992 Category:1980s births Category:Muggle-borns Category:Corporal Patronus Category:Dumbledore's Army Category:Muggle Music Club Category:Gobstones Club Category:Cancers Category:English individuals Category:Applewood wands Category:Unicorn hair cores Category:Appleby Arrows supporters Category:20th century individuals Category:Individuals from Nottinghamshire Category:Individuals Sorted in 1992 Category:Ingham family